16 San Diego Uptown News | Oct. 28-Nov. 10, 2011
WHAT’S UP Craft Revolution: Mid-Century Style Comes to Mingei
By Jeff Britton SDUN Art Critic
To visit San Diego’s Craft Revolution exhibit at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park is to walk through our city’s post-World War II past. The city’s artists heartily embraced contemporary art design, ornamentation and craft based on three strong influences: the area’s grow- ing defense industry, a rapid escalation of art education and the spread of modernism. A group called the Allied Craftsmen especially fostered mid-century modernism style. This was evident in enameling, body ornamentation, architec- tural craft and furniture. Margaret Price’s earth-
enware pot, vase and dish herald the theme as you enter, followed by John Dirks’ ma- hogany salad bowl. A subdued monotype by Harry Bertoia, along with some amazing silver pins and bracelets, are juxtaposed with silver rings by James Parker. A Venetian glass mosaic in
reds, blues and purples sits in stark contrast to three Hondu- ran mahogany beakers from Lemurian Crafts. The same group has a gorgeous enamel on copper base to a lamp. This abundant show merits a lot of time to appreciate fully. Mosaic-topped tables of every size and shape are interspersed with an ink screen printed on linen, vases of unusual shapes and a pre-psychedelic Parker piece of
Ron Carlson, Teapot, 1974, porcelain, photo silkscreen, handmade decals, metallic luster, glaze and underglaze.
colored enamel disks on copper. Check out Larry Hunter’s intricate walnut game table and Douglas Deeds’ chairs of Budweiser cans, a precursor perhaps to Andy Warhol’s pop art. A long jewelry case con- taining gold, silver, turquoise and even leather pieces is a treat for the eyes.
Items, both practical and
purely decorative, range from leather wallets to neckties to lin- en napkins so beautiful one would hate to sully them at a meal. Enamel on copper seems to have been a common treatment of the period, used in plaques, pendants and dishes. Particu- larly vibrant is Phyllis Wallen’s “Fanfare,” a light panel sal- vaged from skylights from the Wishing Well Hotel in Rancho Santa Fe. The many pendants
Douglas Deeds, Chair made with recycled beer cans, first made in Syracuse, New York, ca. 1960. (Courtesy of Douglas Deeds.)
in the exhibit shimmer in the light and were clearly popular forms of jewelry.
How about a camel-shaped pot to wet your whistle, or a candleholder that suggests Me- dusa’s head? It is all here for
your delectation. Brightly col- ored plates, seemingly inspired by Native American motifs, grace a display that includes a unique Jack Boyd necklace of horn, rosewood and bronze. Stand in front of Kay Whit- comb’s huge gaily enameled double doors developed dur- ing the San Diegan’s trips to Sweden and Belgium expressly to study this craft. Then look opposite to James Hubbell’s amazing stained glass window accented by wood shapes, lead and fused glass.
The variety of chairs are as whimsical as they are often impractical. Never mind, here design trumps function and
what a treat it is. So very San Diego is Carl
Ekstrom’s double doors made of polyester resin used in surf- boards. Arline Finch and Marsha Lewis’ display of fashion designs are awash in lovely velvets, silver, rabbit fur and leather. At the end of the exhibit is Ellamarie and Jackson Wooley’s huge “Reflective Sun” wall sculp- ture, which once graced the San Diego Civic Theatre. There’s a sad tale connected to its eventual removal but that does not dimin- ish its brilliance, capping an exhibit worthy of multiple visits. It continues until April 15, 2012. (619) 239-0003 or www.
mingei.orgu
Town Square 14
4665 Clairemont Drive San Diego, CA 92117
Gaslamp 15 701 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
www.ReadingCinemasUS.
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